Camping at Rancho Seco Campground in California’s Central Valley

Traveling through California’s Central Valley on a longer road trip?
Check out my other reviews for campgrounds in Northern California
and in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks!

AMENITIES

• Flush toilets
• Drinkable water
• Hot showers at no extra cost
• Fire pits at all campsites
• Barbecues at all campsites and in day use areas
• Picnic tables at all campsites and in day use areas
• Firewood and ice for sale when available at the park entrance station
• All RV sites offer water and electrical hookups, and some also offer sewage
• Laundry facilities available on site

ABOUT THE SITES

• Rancho Seco Campground has 53 campsites, including 21 RV sites.
• The campground is open year round.
• Tent sites range from $28 to $38 per night, depending on the season.
• RV sites range from $38 to $48.
• Many tent campsites are technically walk-in, but located next to the parking lot, making the short walk easily manageable for most.
• There is little privacy between RV sites, but most are spaced well apart from one another.
• All sites offer some shade.
• We stayed at campsite #8. This RV (or tent) site was spacious, especially considering the neighboring sites were vacant on our visit.
• Pets on leash are allowed at Rancho Seco — or off leash in the dog park! That’s right, there’s an off leash dog park along the shore of Rancho Seco Lake.

FUN STUFF

• Swim and play in the water at Rancho Seco Lake. The lake has a lovely swimming beach near the campground with changing facilities and outdoor showers. A general store may be open seasonally.
• Go boating. Only non-motorized boats or those with electric motors are allowed on Rancho Seco Lake. Kayaks or other boats may be available for rent, but please check ahead of time.
• Go fish! There are multiple fishing docks around the lake, which is stocked with a variety of fish. A California State fishing license is required, and Rancho Seco charges a $5 fishing fee.
• Have a picnic. Shaded picnic tables near Rancho Seco Lake are the perfect spot. Barbecues are also available.
• Take a hike. A short trail follows the north shore of Rancho Seco Lake. It’s a quick drive from the campground to the trailhead.
• Let Fido run free in the Rancho Seco dog park near the campground entrance.

NEARBY & NOTABLE

• Sacramento is located 45 minutes northwest of Rancho Seco Campground.
• Stockton lies 40 minutes to the south.
• Yosemite National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are not exactly nearby, but they are certainly notable! We camped at Rancho Seco Campground en route to Sequoia and Kings Canyon. There aren’t many campgrounds in California’s Central Valley, so this is a nice overnight option when heading to the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the north.

THE VERDICT

Ever dreamed of camping alongside a nuclear power plant? Looking to check that one off your bucket list? All kidding aside, Rancho Seco Campground was a pleasant surprise. The campground is beautifully kept and there is plenty to recommend it for a laid back weekend getaway.

All the campsites are within easy walking distance of Rancho Seco Lake, and some of the tent campsites are directly on the lakeshore. Since Rancho Seco Lake only allows non-motorized boats or those with electric motors, it’s a pleasant place to paddle and swim for all ages. Sure, it may be a little odd to see the twin cooling towers looming across the lake, but you get used to it. Still, you may wonder, is it safe? According to SMUD, who manages the site, it is. If you’d like to learn more, this article at CapRadio provides some insight. These days, a massive solar farm surrounds the former nuclear plant, a sign of California’s turn toward green energy.

For our purposes, Rancho Seco Campground was a luxurious overnight stop en route to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. At these prices, you should expect a little luxury! $38 for a tent campsite in peak season is pretty steep. But consider what you get: a well kept site with all the basic amenities, hot showers at no extra charge (pretty nice ones, too), and easy access to a lake with a beautiful swimming beach.

Lovely as it is, I wouldn’t travel all the way from the PNW just to stay at Rancho Seco Campground. It can, however, be a nice one-night stop en route to other destinations. If you live near Sacramento or Stockton, book a couple of nights and turn it into a weekend trip. From nuclear power plant to outdoor recreation hub and solar farm, Rancho Seco has undergone quite the evolution. It’s exciting to see these changes taking place, and know that many will benefit for years to come.

We pulled into Rancho Seco Campground at dusk with just enough time to set up our campsite in the fading light. On our way in, we passed the twin towers of the former Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, a rather ominous introduction to what is now an outpost of outdoor recreation in California’s vast Central Valley. Decommissioned in 1989, the towers are now a historical curiosity, but also a reminder that nuclear waste is still stored nearby

On that note, I will say that SMUD (the Sacramento Municipal Utilitiy District) has tested the area around Rancho Seco Campground and determined it to be safe. With this in mind, we settled into our campsite, then headed out for some after dark exploration.

Our campsite, #8, was fairly isolated, but as we neared the lake we saw tent campers lining the shore. No surprise here — these sites offered gorgeous views across Rancho Seco Lake, even if that view did sometimes include the aforementioned towers.

We looped around the campsites and headed for the restrooms at the far end of Rancho Seco Campground. That was one downside to our campsite location; we had to trek to the other side of the camp just to reach a restroom. While there was a smaller restroom much closer to our site, it was sadly closed. I’m not sure of the reason, but my guess is that facilities were limited due to COVID constraints. Hopefully all of Rancho Seco’s restrooms are open again in 2022.

The next morning we had more time to explore the park, although unfortunately not enough for a swim or a paddle. At the relatively early hour of 8am the grounds were quiet and peaceful, with most campers still sleeping or enjoying a leisurely breakfast at their campsite. Rancho Seco Lake shimmered like glass under calm, clear skies. We spotted a few lizards out and about, doubtless appreciating the relative cool of the morning.

We enjoyed a breakfast of our own, and I, for one, was happy to take advantage of the free hot showers. Little did we know, but that was the last hot shower we would see for the next 13 days (no, I am not exaggerating, and yes, swimming became more important than ever).

Soon we packed up and drove out across the dam, then past the old cooling towers, now surrounded by a sea of solar panels. We gazed in awe at the seemingly endless field of panels. What an incredible transformation in three short decades! And what a beautiful surprise Rancho Seco Campground turned out to be! We may not be back (it’s a little far for a weekend trip from Seattle), but it was well worth the one-night stay.